Facilities for the manufacture, storage, transportation or use of flammable materials such as, for example, hydrocarbons are hazardous environments due to the possibility of an accidental ignition by a flame or a spark in the environment. Therefore, regulations and standards to minimize the possibility of fires or explosions govern the construction of buildings and the use of equipment such as, for example, explosion-proof equipment, in such hazardous environments. The regulations and standards include sealing and/or restriction requirements so that hazardous gases cannot reach an electric arc or spark cannot ignite a fire or explosion in the hazardous environment. The term “explosion-proof” is used to mean a designated piece of equipment or structure will not permit an ignition source such as a spark or flame to propagate to the atmosphere and, if an explosion does occur within the equipment or structure, the explosion will be safely contained within an enclosure and pressure from the explosion will be safely relieved.
Explosion-proof antenna assemblies are used to transmit and/or receive wireless communications in hazardous environments. The antenna may be contained or housed within a radome to isolate the antenna from the surrounding hazardous environment. Typically, the antenna is connected to a conductive wire or cable that extends through an enclosure or fitting at an end of the radome. The enclosure must provide a flame-tight engagement with the wire or cable and the radome so that a spark or explosion cannot exit the radome.